Chaeles h



. (Model.)

O. H.v SOALES.

ToBAoco Box, 8m.

Patented Mar. 3, 1885.

lllnrrnn Sra'rns CHARLES H. SOLES, OF COVINGTON,

Partner (Etnies,

KENTCKY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-I-IALF TOBACCO-'BOX, aC.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 313,112, dated March 3, 1885.

v Application filcd October 1G, 1884. (Model.) i

T ctZZ wtom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Cl-IARLEs H ENRY SoALns, a citizen of' the United States, formerly of the city of Covington, in the county of Kenton, in 5` the State of Kentucky, 'now residing iu the city ot'Toronto, in the county of York, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, manufacturer, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacoo Boxes, Butts, or Oaddies; io and I do hereby deelare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the saine. The object of the invention is to design a to`iacco box, butt', or caddy which can be made more cheaply than the kind now used,

VV headed off with less difiiculty, opened without breaking' or displacing the tobacco for the pur pose of displaying the face of the plug` or for sampling, and in which the end ]'oints cannot adinit the outside inoisture, while at the same time any inoisture absorbed by the wood from the tobacco is permitted to pass out ,freely to the outside of the package, where it will be absorbed by the atmosphere; and it consists, essentially, in se'curing the sides of the tobacco-box to its ends by metal clips fianged so as to cover entirely the joints between the sides and their ends, the nails for securing the caps iu position passing through the sides and ends, so that no other nails are required than those en'iployed in fastening the cap, a large auuu- 'lar hole being left in each cap, so asto perniit it to be Iitted suugly against the ends, and also leave exposed a large portion of the end, in order that any moistnre caused by the 3 5 sweating' of the tobacco shall pass freel y through the end and be absorbed in the atlnosphere.

Figure l represents a perspective view of niy improved box made in the form of a. to- 40 baoco-caddy, with the cover removed to expose the tobacco. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an ordinary tobacco-caddy.

In order that the advautages of my improved box may be appreciated, I shall first refer to the style of package which mine is designed to replace. This is exhibited in Fig. 2, and consists of a rectangular box, the tobacco being packed in through one of its ends, the head A of which is left off to allow of the packing of the tobacco, the said package being placed in a press and the tobacco compressed therein until the end A, which is placed on top of the tobacco, being pressed in, is forced inside of the end of the package sufficiently far to allow of thelinersl being inserted and tacked around the end, as indicated, and at the same time allow of the row of nails a to be driven into its edge for the pnrpose ofsecurely holding' it in position.

Owiug to the force created by the expan- Go sion of the tobacco compressed into the box,it is necessary to biud the ends A in position in the manner described, otherwise the internal pressure would force the ends off.

\Vhen the dealer wishes to get at the to' bacco, he is obliged to practically destroy the entire package, as it is not possible to remove either the end or the side without knocking one side of the box off as well as the end; consequently the tobaeeo thns exposed cannot be repacked in its original shape, and, being uncovered, is exposed to dust and to the effects of the changing weather. This style of box must also be made of hard wood--such as oak, sycai'nore, or other expensive hard woodsand is therefore uiueh heavier than if it were niade of a lighter and sol'ter wood. The ends being necessarily forced inside of the box, the box is therefore to that extent longer than is absolutely necessary to contain the tobacco.

On reference to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the sides of niy box or package are secured together by light sheetanetal caps O, fitted at each end, an auuular hole being cut in each cap, as shown, and so 'langed that'the joints between the sides"aud the ends are entirely covered, and the nails which secure each cap in position pass through the sides into the end; consequently very few nails, comparatively speaking, are required to secure the sides of niy package together, as the sheetinetal caps O strengthen the joiuts between the sides, no more nails being required than is necessary to fasten the caps in position..

In the niannfacture of niy improvcd paclo age the ilauges Z) lare left nnbent, so that the covcrF will fit in between the fiauges, resting on the top edge of the sides D and ends E,

vafter which the flanges Z) are bent over and nailed down, the nails passing through the cover D into the ends,.

I may inention here that the box or package constructed as described is placed in the press in the same way as the caddy shown in Fig. 2, except that the tobacco H is forced in at the top or side of the box instead of at its ends, and owing to the cap O it is not neces' sary to force the cover inside of the box; consequently the box need only be made the exact size necessary to contain the required quantity of tobacco. y i

I am aware of English'Patent No. 2,183 of 1857, in which a bullion-box is shown having its ends protected by flanged metal caps; but the box therein shown would not answer the purpose of the box or package I describe as my invention for the following reasons: First, the bullion-box mentioned would be very'ex-- pensive to construct, as the box proper is nailed together and finished, as far as it is a box, before the metal caps are put on, which metal caps are merely added for the purpose of st'Itength; secondly, the ends of the box are completely covered by the caps, so that were the box packed with tobacco the moisture from it, when sweating, lcould not escape through the metal ends, and consequentlythe tobacco would nxold and become musty,whereas in my box the annular hole made in the cap permits the atmosphere to act directly upon the wood,and thus absorb any moisture which may have penetrated it from the tobacco;

thirdly, the flanges of the metal caps used in the bullion-box 'do not cover entirely the joints between the ends and the sides, and consequently any excessive outside moisture would readilyfind its way through the first joints mentioned into the tobacco, thereby making it moldy and unsalable. I may mention here that the reason it is more important to cover the end joints than the side joints arises from the fact that moisture will follow the end grain of the Wood more readily than it will pass across the grain; consequently the side joints are in themselves sufficiently tight to prevent the admission of outside moisture, which, however, is impossible in securing the end joints; consequently it becomes important to entirely cover the end joints, as specified.

Among the other advantages which I claim in my improved package are, first, it being merely necessary to make it the exact size to contain the required qnantity of tobacco, a

' large saving of materialis effected over the Sheet-metal caps O, less nails are required in its manufacture, and as the caps protect the package,it can be made of soft and less expen-- sive wood,which renders the package lighter, and thereby secures a corresponding reduction in the cost of freight; thirdly,it can be headed od in much less time, as it requires but little labor to bend over the flanges b and drive the few nails required; fourthly, the flanges b can readily be bent back to allow the remova-l of the cover F, which removal exposes the face of the tobacco, which is thus advantageously ^exposed, and can be readily sampled, and the cover replaced; fifthly, the tobacco can be displayed in its original shape as packed, and without in any way destroying the package, which, when empty, may be used again or utilized for some other purpose; sixthly, the Sheet-metal caps can readil y be stamped When being made with the name of the firm, the brand, the weight, &c., thereby effecting a large saving in labor in the marking or brandingof the package. The caps O, being stamped out with an annular hole, so as to expose the end of the package, for the purpose hereinbefore specified, also allows the name, brand, or symbol to be marked on the end E when it is not stamped on the cap C. This annular hole also saves material without detracting from the strength of the cap.

VVhat I claim as my invention is- 1. A tobacco box, butt, or caddy in which the ends and sides are secured together by Sheet-metal caps fitted at each end and fianged, so as to cover entirely the joints between the ends and sides, the nails for securing the metal caps being used for fastening the sides and ends together.

2. A tobacco box, butt, or caddy in which the ends and sides are secured together by sheet-lnetal caps fitted at each end, and having annular holes cut in them and flanged', so as to cover entirely the joints between the ends and sides, the nails for securing the metal caps beingr used for fastening the sides and ends together.

Toronto, October 13, 1884.

GHAS. H. SCALES.

In presence of- CHARLES C. BALDWIN, F. BARNARD FETHERsToNHAUGH.

IOO 

